Traveling to Wake Forest this weekend to compete in the ACC Championships, the Virginia track and field team is confident they can take their performance to the next level and place higher than last year.
"I think we have a better team this year obviously than we did last year," Virginia coach Randy Bungard said. "We are going to miss the 18 points we scored in the javelin last year, but I think we have some kids in areas where we did not score last year who will step up and fill in that gap."
Rachel Marks is one of those who could contribute significantly more points than she did last year. At the Lou Onesty/Milton Abramson Invitational, held last weekend in Charlottesville, Marks cleared 5'11" in the high jump to tie the top score in the ACC in that event.
Erin Crawford, who won the 400 meter hurdles at that same meet, also has the potential to rack up the points for Virginia.
"Last year at ACCs I set a school record in the 400 hurdles with a time of 57.06," Crawford said. "This year I plan on winning the 400m hurdles. I want to drop my time down to 56 seconds or 55 seconds and set a new school record."
Another point contributor to watch is junior All-American Tomika Ferguson. Ferguson placed sixth in the triple-jump at the NCAA indoor championships back in March and, after moving to the outdoor triple-jump, has continued to perform very well.
"Everyone can look at where they are on the list and look at where they are supposed to score," Bungard said. "But the thing about a conference meet is it's a war. You just have to go there and do what you can do that day and watch the points add up."
Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, two of the men's team's top scorers will not be competing this weekend. Senior Kellen Blassingame, who sustained a season-ending injury a few weeks ago, will be sorely missed in the 400m and 200m races where he placed second and third, respectively, last year to score a total of 14 points. Another senior, David Sullivan, left the team for personal reasons earlier this year. At last year's ACC Championships, he placed second in the vault, and now the 22 points he earned last year will have to be picked up somewhere else.
While Bungard said he believes the team can still do very well at the meet, the absence of these two key seniors widens the range of places at which he could see the team finishing.
"Without them, I think we still have a shot at a place like second," Bungard said. "It all depends on how the meet goes and if our team shows up to compete."
Indeed, the intensity and emotions at an ACC conference meet can cause even the most highly competitive athletes to falter and make mistakes. There tend to be a greater number of false starts, a greater number of hurdles knocked over and a greater number of upsets. For the Cavaliers, it will be all about avoiding their own slip-ups and taking advantage of opponents' mistakes.
Despite the pressure, freshman Yemi Ayeni seems determined to remain calm about competing in his first ACC outdoor championship meet. The discus thrower, who took first at the Onesty/Abramson Invitational, hopes to take first place and to score as many points as possible for his team. To do so, he will have to beat North Carolina's Vikas Gowda and Florida State's Garret Johnson -- the two whom Ayeni deems his stiffest competition.
"My coach Carrie said, 'Compete first, personal bests can wait,'" Ayeni said. "I am going to take her advice."
Last weekend seems to have built up a lot of confidence in the team as they head to the conference meet. Bungard credits the nice weather, competing in Charlottesville and the team's overall success at the Onesty/Abramson Invitational with putting them in a good mindset for the conference championships.
"I am very excited about this weekend as I am sure the rest of the team is as well," Ayeni said.
Read More
With last-second three-pointer, SMU silences men’s basketball
By Michael Liebermann and Thomas Baxter | 15 hours agoThe late shot crushed a bouncing arena.
With dominance and high hopes, women’s tennis opens the spring season
By Gracie Genereux | 16 hours agoA commanding opening victory set the stage for the season to come.
No. 6 women’s squash falls to No. 5 Stanford in first match of the new year
By Peter Kratz | 2 days agoThe Cavaliers fall to 0-1 in conference play after their first clash with the Cardinal.
